Share this:

Make sure to check out Tammany Hall Tavern this weekend for $20 for 20 wings and 2 pitchers of beer. Treat yourself, you deserve it…you are a Jets fan.

Joe Caporoso – Mark Sanchez vs. The Colts Defense –The Jets need a win and Mark Sanchez needs a strong performance to tone down the Tim Tebow as the starting quarterback talk for a couple of weeks. Sanchez doesn’t have the excuse of going against a strong defense and he will likely have both Dustin Keller and Stephen Hill back. It is time to complete over 50% of your passes. It is time to go a full game without a single turnover. It is time to inspire a little confidence as the Jets head into New England next week. The Jets are much better off with Sanchez under center against the Patriots than Tebow, so let’s hope he can lock down that spot with a strong performance this week.

Chris Gross – Antonio Cromartie vs. Reggie Wayne – Cromartie is coming off what was arguably his best game as a Jet. Wayne, on the other hand, is coming off of a stellar 13 catch, 212 yard, 1 touchdown performance against Green Bay. Wayne has been much rejuvenated this season with the emergence of rookie sensation Andrew Luck, as he has reasserted himself as one of the league’s best Wide Receivers, currently on pace to double his numbers from last season. Cromartie has been playing very Revis-like since the All-World corner tore his ACL in week 3 against Miami. Now comes the real test for Cro. Can he truly be like Revis and shut down the league’s best receivers on a week to week basis? After holding Houston’s Andre Johnson to just one reception last week, Cromartie would be off to a very good start in achieving this consistency with another dominant performance against Wayne. It will be no easy task, but the best in the game have done it. Now it is time to see if Cromartie is really in that elite group of cornerbacks.

Chris Celletti – Jets’ running game vs. Colts’ run defense: If there is one week the Jets are to get going on the ground, it should be this week. The Colts rank 25th in the NFL against the run through five weeks. We have been all over Shonn Greene and the Jets’ putrid running game here at Turn On The Jets, but to play devil’s advocate, the Jets have faced very good run defenses so far this year. The Dolphins, Niners, Texans and Steelers all rank in the top 11 of the NFL against the run so far this year. That doesn’t totally excuse Greene from being the NFL’s worst second-level back, or mean he’s going to all of a sudden look like Adrian Peterson or Arian Foster out there, but he – or for that matter whoever the hell carries the ball for the Jets on Sunday – should be able to be effective. The Jets need it. Mark Sanchez desperately needs it. If the Jets can finally get going on the ground, they should be able to get back to .500 on Sunday.

Mike Donnelly – I’ll make this one short and sweet for this week’s game against the Colts. The matchup I’m most looking forward to seeing is the Jets defensive line and pass rush against a rookie QB and his porous offensive line. The Jets are home and the Colts are out of their dome, in hostile territory. Their starting running back is out, so even the lame excuse for run defense we’ve watched the past five games should be able to clamp down and force some 3rd and long situations. If the Jets can’t muster up some kind of pass rush this week against this team, then they truly are a lost cause.

Rob Celletti – Rex Ryan’s scheme vs. Andrew Luck. In 2009 and 2010, one thing about the Jets was a guarantee: they could make quarterbacks of any skill level look foolish, but they could really put a hurting on inexperienced ones. Even last season, everyone knew the Jets would blow out the Jaguars in Week 2 when they trotted Luke McCown out as their starting signal caller.

This year, however, things aren’t so certain. The Jets’ defense is a shell of its former dominant self, and the quarterback they face on Sunday is no ordinary rookie. If the Jets are going to win this game – which I do believe they will – one of the key factors is that Rex Ryan needs to figure out a way to confuse and frustrate Andrew Luck. The Jets’ pass rush has been non-existent, so it will be up to the defensive coaches to figure out how to make Luck think twice about the defense as he reads it. The defense actually put in a representative effort against Matt Schaub and the Texans on Monday, particularly in the second half where they only allowed 6 points. Schaub was held to just 14 for 28 passing. Rex likes the term “simulated pressure”, which is ironic, considering the Jets really don’t bring any “actual” pressure. But throwing enough varied looks at Luck should confuse the kid and force him into a turnover or two. If the Jets do that, they have a good chance to even their record at 3-3

Share this:

Related

Author: Joe Caporoso

Joe Caporoso is the Owner and EIC of Turn On The Jets. His writing has been featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post, MMQB and AdWeek. Caporoso played football his entire life, including four years at Muhlenberg as a wide receiver, where he was arguably the slowest receiver to ever start in school history. He is the VP of Social Media at Whistle Sports
View all posts by Joe Caporoso